Townsend Camping

[Voodoo1]

We're looking at camping for the first time this year & decided to choose Townsend camping over Flyby as they advertised showers and hot food.
We would of tried Totterdown as that seems to be the best place but guessed it'd be booked up by now.

Has anyone used this place and any comments greatly appreciated. I've looked at online reviews and there's mixed responses.

Thanks in advance as always.
Stephen

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[ChrisGilligan]

I haven't got any advice to offer on Townsend but I stayed at Flyby last year for three nights and it did the trick nicely. There were decent hot showers and a decent toilet block and a hot food trailer. It was pretty basic (chips, burgers etc) but also did the trick nicely. They even had a doughnut trailer

Flyby is close to the approach so you'll be able to see a bit from the site but it is into the sun and a tad distant at times.

I'd definitely recommend Flyby to anybody's or a cheap place to camp, close to the entrances.

Only 6 and a bit months to go! Roll on July.
Chris.

[James Cutting]

Hi Stephen,

Last year was Dad and I's first RIAT, and we stayed at Townsend Farm, and to be honest, it was really really good!

Loads and loads of space, the shower facilities are pretty good (especially for a campsite!!) and yes they do offer hot food (fish and chips) and alcohol. Albeit it is a tad expensive.

There are several portaloos tucked away in each field so you are covered there!! A big bonus is a lot of arrivals/displays are very very close to the campsite so that is brilliant, and is only a 5 minute walk from the end of the runway.

For the price it is a very good campsite, and we will definitely be going again. I have done a lot of camping in life and have definitely stayed in worse!!

Any questions just let me know.

Many thanks,

James.

[Voodoo1]

James, great stuff and glad to hear the good review.
Roll on July!

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[James Cutting]

No problems Stephen

Any further questions just feel free to ask. Just waiting to book my tickets now

[Sparkjeff]

I stayed at Townsend Fm last year, and again this year...its pretty much next door to Flyby...but slightly further from the airfield...one shower block, does the job but pick your timing, as said plenty of loos...and kept well clean...didnt use the bar/food so cant comment...but value for money, it does get rammed sat/sun...but sun eve most have vacated, quite amusing...few late arrivals OTT, a two-seat spit entertained a couple of evenings too giving `someone` some flights...and one night a Voyager beasted the site in the early hours out of Brize!

Enjoy

[MRTT]

If you're not booked up for Townsend now, Kempsford hasn't opened for bookings yet so you're likely to get a spot there if that's something you'd want to do?

Spark, Spitfire you mentioned was performing for the Gala Dinner held on the Friday night, would expect a repeat performance this year!

[Voodoo1]

We've already booked Townsend now. We didn't want to chance Kempsford as the tickets, hotels and campsites are all selling quickly for the time of year. Might give it a go next year as sounds like a majority of the enthusiasts prefer Kempsford and sounds a good atmosphere.
Cheers anyhow!

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[MRTT]

Alright, no worries! Enjoy Townsend!

[Voodoo1]

Hey Hawkeye,
They are booking fast but they should have pitches.
Look at their website and it should tell you if they've booked up.
Cheers, Steve (voodoo1)

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[Voodoo1]

Look forward to it Hawkeye, be nice to put faces to profiles. Roll on July!

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[benno]

So how did you guys find it a Townsend this year?

For us it was an absolute disaster!!

We booked to arrive Thursday (Although we didn't get there until Friday morning) to depart on Monday and bailed out on Saturday afternoon because;

There was no water from Friday night until about 12.00 on Saturday lunch time and they obviously didn't fill the tank as seemingly it ran out again about 15.00
The toilets were overflowing and were absolutely disgusting by Friday night.
We had some very inconsiderate idiots pitch at the back of us with a load of kids who were shouting and playing music until about 1.30 early hours of Saturday morning.
There was no organsiation at all and people were literally pitching on top of each other, which suggests that there was no limits to the places sold.
The access points between fields were getting in a state before we left, I watched one guy rip part of his rear bumper off his car.
I spoke to a guy at the reception tent, who said "bare with me for a minute" and then vanished, never to be seen again.
I messaged them using the Facebook page and didn't get a reply as of yet.

The only people who seemed positive about the place were the people who were only there for 1 night.

I'm really annoyed that it cost £185 for 1 night and I'm going to see this Tom shortly.

Looking on the other forums about Rhymes in particular. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner has turned this into a free for all on purpose in the hope that he'll claim to have had 5000 campers and hope for some kind of massive pay out, in the event that he gets shut down by the nanny state jobsworth brigade.

[Para AD]

Hi,
I stayed from Thursday (nice and quiet) till Sunday ( like the jungle in Calais).
I agree it was a total money making free for all with people pitching everywhere, messy toilets, inconsiderate campers ( Note i was drinking too but appreciate it was meant to be a family campsite so stayed well in control) looked to me like a lot of people there had no real interest in RIAT or aviation and was just there for a festival.
yes you get some good shots of the aircraft coming in to land but i will not be staying there again, far to many people in too small a place.
on a positive note i found the Bar on site very welcoming and friendly.

[James Cutting]

So how did you guys find it a Townsend this year?

For us it was an absolute disaster!!

We booked to arrive Thursday (Although we didn't get there until Friday morning) to depart on Monday and bailed out on Saturday afternoon because;

There was no water from Friday night until about 12.00 on Saturday lunch time and they obviously didn't fill the tank as seemingly it ran out again about 15.00
The toilets were overflowing and were absolutely disgusting by Friday night.
We had some very inconsiderate idiots pitch at the back of us with a load of kids who were shouting and playing music until about 1.30 early hours of Saturday morning.
There was no organsiation at all and people were literally pitching on top of each other, which suggests that there was no limits to the places sold.
The access points between fields were getting in a state before we left, I watched one guy rip part of his rear bumper off his car.
I spoke to a guy at the reception tent, who said "bare with me for a minute" and then vanished, never to be seen again.
I messaged them using the Facebook page and didn't get a reply as of yet.

The only people who seemed positive about the place were the people who were only there for 1 night.

I'm really annoyed that it cost £185 for 1 night and I'm going to see this Tom shortly.

Looking on the other forums about Rhymes in particular. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner has turned this into a free for all on purpose in the hope that he'll claim to have had 5000 campers and hope for some kind of massive pay out, in the event that he gets shut down by the nanny state jobsworth brigade.

Must just have been you then...

This was myself and my Dad's second year there and had hardly any issues at all. We again opted to stay in the quiet fields, and had plenty of space! No issues with the toilets whatsoever, and the showers were hit and miss, but our water tank was always full of water.

I did notice, however, the 'general camping fields' were quite noisy - but what do you expect with campers? A lot of people there were clearly not there for RIAT, but you get this everywhere you go. Did you chat to the people behind you and ask them to quieten down politely? It's probably the cheapest campsite around and I have done several years of camping before and is one of the best places I have camped.

I would recommend you try out the 'quiet fields' - these are much better!

You must have had a few people with you for it to cost £185?? Only cost us £80 for 3 nights. Will be using this again more than likely - you will find however, that this will be the same at each campsite.

[Typhoon2]

Surprised at the comments about this but could not help but notice some of the points too. The free for all pitching everywhere did not work in my opinion, we pitched by the orange barrier in the second field and had it not been for the fact we chose to stay on the campsite on Saturday, I fail to see how we could have driven out with tents and caravans everywhere. The toilets were quite bad on the Saturday but then I kind of expected that, with it being the busiest day. Apart from that I thought it was alright, basic needs that I felt were met, from my perspective, but can see why others could have complained.

[benno]

So how did you guys find it a Townsend this year?

For us it was an absolute disaster!!

We booked to arrive Thursday (Although we didn't get there until Friday morning) to depart on Monday and bailed out on Saturday afternoon because;

There was no water from Friday night until about 12.00 on Saturday lunch time and they obviously didn't fill the tank as seemingly it ran out again about 15.00
The toilets were overflowing and were absolutely disgusting by Friday night.
We had some very inconsiderate idiots pitch at the back of us with a load of kids who were shouting and playing music until about 1.30 early hours of Saturday morning.
There was no organsiation at all and people were literally pitching on top of each other, which suggests that there was no limits to the places sold.
The access points between fields were getting in a state before we left, I watched one guy rip part of his rear bumper off his car.
I spoke to a guy at the reception tent, who said "bare with me for a minute" and then vanished, never to be seen again.
I messaged them using the Facebook page and didn't get a reply as of yet.

The only people who seemed positive about the place were the people who were only there for 1 night.

I'm really annoyed that it cost £185 for 1 night and I'm going to see this Tom shortly.

Looking on the other forums about Rhymes in particular. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner has turned this into a free for all on purpose in the hope that he'll claim to have had 5000 campers and hope for some kind of massive pay out, in the event that he gets shut down by the nanny state jobsworth brigade.

Must just have been you then...

This was myself and my Dad's second year there and had hardly any issues at all. We again opted to stay in the quiet fields, and had plenty of space! No issues with the toilets whatsoever, and the showers were hit and miss, but our water tank was always full of water.

I did notice, however, the 'general camping fields' were quite noisy - but what do you expect with campers? A lot of people there were clearly not there for RIAT, but you get this everywhere you go. Did you chat to the people behind you and ask them to quieten down politely? It's probably the cheapest campsite around and I have done several years of camping before and is one of the best places I have camped.

I would recommend you try out the 'quiet fields' - these are much better!

You must have had a few people with you for it to cost £185?? Only cost us £80 for 3 nights. Will be using this again more than likely - you will find however, that this will be the same at each campsite.

This is the second year we've stayed here. Last year was quite different. In previous years I've stayed at several others, which were booked up and I missed those this year.
"What do you expect with campers?" Well, I don't expect to be told to F*ck off for asking to keep the noise down at 1.00 in the morning. There were lots of families with very young children who retired around 11.00 and most of the others were lights out at 12.00, lots of which were up early to go into the show.
Somebody described it like the Calais Jungle, I would say that's not a bad assessment.

[James Cutting]

So how did you guys find it a Townsend this year?

For us it was an absolute disaster!!

We booked to arrive Thursday (Although we didn't get there until Friday morning) to depart on Monday and bailed out on Saturday afternoon because;

There was no water from Friday night until about 12.00 on Saturday lunch time and they obviously didn't fill the tank as seemingly it ran out again about 15.00
The toilets were overflowing and were absolutely disgusting by Friday night.
We had some very inconsiderate idiots pitch at the back of us with a load of kids who were shouting and playing music until about 1.30 early hours of Saturday morning.
There was no organsiation at all and people were literally pitching on top of each other, which suggests that there was no limits to the places sold.
The access points between fields were getting in a state before we left, I watched one guy rip part of his rear bumper off his car.
I spoke to a guy at the reception tent, who said "bare with me for a minute" and then vanished, never to be seen again.
I messaged them using the Facebook page and didn't get a reply as of yet.

The only people who seemed positive about the place were the people who were only there for 1 night.

I'm really annoyed that it cost £185 for 1 night and I'm going to see this Tom shortly.

Looking on the other forums about Rhymes in particular. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner has turned this into a free for all on purpose in the hope that he'll claim to have had 5000 campers and hope for some kind of massive pay out, in the event that he gets shut down by the nanny state jobsworth brigade.

Must just have been you then...

This was myself and my Dad's second year there and had hardly any issues at all. We again opted to stay in the quiet fields, and had plenty of space! No issues with the toilets whatsoever, and the showers were hit and miss, but our water tank was always full of water.

I did notice, however, the 'general camping fields' were quite noisy - but what do you expect with campers? A lot of people there were clearly not there for RIAT, but you get this everywhere you go. Did you chat to the people behind you and ask them to quieten down politely? It's probably the cheapest campsite around and I have done several years of camping before and is one of the best places I have camped.

I would recommend you try out the 'quiet fields' - these are much better!

You must have had a few people with you for it to cost £185?? Only cost us £80 for 3 nights. Will be using this again more than likely - you will find however, that this will be the same at each campsite.

This is the second year we've stayed here. Last year was quite different. In previous years I've stayed at several others, which were booked up and I missed those this year.
"What do you expect with campers?" Well, I don't expect to be told to F*ck off for asking to keep the noise down at 1.00 in the morning. There were lots of families with very young children who retired around 11.00 and most of the others were lights out at 12.00, lots of which were up early to go into the show.
Somebody described it like the Calais Jungle, I would say that's not a bad assessment.

That's fair enough, apologies.

However, as mentioned the quiet field was completely fine. Sorry you've had a bad time, but I have hardly heard any complaints

[f1jetfan]

Never had a problem at townsend Farm, flyby however can be a nightmare. Go to the quiet fields and you will have no problem.

[tim_raper]

So how did you guys find it a Townsend this year?

For us it was an absolute disaster!!

We booked to arrive Thursday (Although we didn't get there until Friday morning) to depart on Monday and bailed out on Saturday afternoon because;

There was no water from Friday night until about 12.00 on Saturday lunch time and they obviously didn't fill the tank as seemingly it ran out again about 15.00
The toilets were overflowing and were absolutely disgusting by Friday night.
We had some very inconsiderate idiots pitch at the back of us with a load of kids who were shouting and playing music until about 1.30 early hours of Saturday morning.
There was no organsiation at all and people were literally pitching on top of each other, which suggests that there was no limits to the places sold.
The access points between fields were getting in a state before we left, I watched one guy rip part of his rear bumper off his car.
I spoke to a guy at the reception tent, who said "bare with me for a minute" and then vanished, never to be seen again.
I messaged them using the Facebook page and didn't get a reply as of yet.

The only people who seemed positive about the place were the people who were only there for 1 night.

I'm really annoyed that it cost £185 for 1 night and I'm going to see this Tom shortly.

Looking on the other forums about Rhymes in particular. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner has turned this into a free for all on purpose in the hope that he'll claim to have had 5000 campers and hope for some kind of massive pay out, in the event that he gets shut down by the nanny state jobsworth brigade.

Must just have been you then...

This was myself and my Dad's second year there and had hardly any issues at all. We again opted to stay in the quiet fields, and had plenty of space! No issues with the toilets whatsoever, and the showers were hit and miss, but our water tank was always full of water.

I did notice, however, the 'general camping fields' were quite noisy - but what do you expect with campers? A lot of people there were clearly not there for RIAT, but you get this everywhere you go. Did you chat to the people behind you and ask them to quieten down politely? It's probably the cheapest campsite around and I have done several years of camping before and is one of the best places I have camped.

I would recommend you try out the 'quiet fields' - these are much better!

You must have had a few people with you for it to cost £185?? Only cost us £80 for 3 nights. Will be using this again more than likely - you will find however, that this will be the same at each campsite.

Just generally shows the level of abuse and bad quality service we have got used to.
For that sort of money you could get, and should expect, a nice comfy bed, ensuite and all the hot water you need plus a fully stocked bar and restaurant on site.

[RJ79]

We stayed at Townsend this year (for the first time) and it was fine for us.

Grumbles
- Pitches weren't organised and ended up with people pitching wherever they could come Friday evening
- Mobile charging point was inactive until Saturday morning, my little phone drinks battery quite quickly (as does any iPhone).

Positives
- the IPA was good (felt a bit sorry for the lager drinkers and the dodgy pumps)
- Saturday evening entertainment was good (alrighter!)
- overall value for money was very good
- excellent location for approaches and walking to the show

The toilets were a bit 'festivally' come Sunday morning but that is only to be expected!

Overall, positives definitely outweighed the negatives!

Rob

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